Gronkowski apologizes for bye week photos

Gronkowski apologizes for bye week photos

FOXBORO -- Rob Gronkowski was clearly made to feel bad about his choice of bye week running mates. The second-year tight end, photographed shirtless with porn star Bibi Jones (she had a shirt on; it was Gronk's blue game jersey), made a stammering apology for whatever offense he perpertrated. "I didn't intend anything to hurt the reputation of anyone on the New England Patriots," said Gronkowski on Wednesday. "On behalf of Robert Kraft and that's all and it's just a simple picture and that's all and uh, from here on out I'm just here to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers and the big game this weekend."Gronk isn't built for this kind of thing. The synapses were firing faster than he could articulate what he meant. And, clearly, he wasn't sure what he needed to apologize for. I'm with him. He's an unmarried 21-year-old who had his photo taken with a porn star and shared it with the general populace. But the devil can be found in the details if you look hard enough. Bill Belichick asked his players not to make bye week headlines and Gronk did (and didn't have the foresight to realize how this would be a blood-in-the-water story). Although porn stars are allowed to wear whatever they please (though if they wear too much too often, they may be out of work), Gronk associating the Patriots' brand with the Bibi Jones brand was probably not something that ownership felt was awesome. Dumb choice. But in all honesty, it would have been better off left to blow over (ahem) than having Gronk fall on his sword in front of the media. Whether Gronk will serve penance beyond the embarrassment remains to be seen. Last year, you may recall, Wes Welker sat out the first offensive series of the Pats' playoff game against the Jets after press conference several references to Rex Ryan's personal life. And as funny, and harmless, as it all may have seemed at the time, it didn't go over well in the coach's office.
Belichick had asked the team that week not to incite media coverage with trash talk. Welker's foot comments stepped over the line in Belichick's view.

Halftime stars, studs and duds: Celtics go on second-quarter run

Halftime stars, studs and duds: Celtics go on second-quarter run

BOSTON – The Celtics used a blistering run in the second quarter to propel them to a 50-42 lead over the Toronto Raptors after two quarters of play.

It was the second straight game the Celtics had to play without their leading scorer Isaiah Thomas who remains out indefinitely with a right groin injury.

As was the case in Boston’s 30-point win at Orlando, Avery Bradley took it upon himself to pick up some of the scoring slack as he leads the Celtics with 13 points at the half.

Boston also got strong play in the first half from Al Horford who set the tone with a pair of 3’s in the first few minutes of the game. He would score eight first-half points to go with three rebounds.

And then there was the Celtics bench seemingly picking up where they left off in Orlando.

Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier were once again making their impact early and often as they scored seven and four points, respectively.

The game was relatively close until Boston, leading 32-31, went on a 14-0 run.

But the Raptors, once again among the top teams in the East, were able to outscore Boston 11-5 the rest of the second quarter which cut Boston’s led at the half down to eight points.

Here’s a look at the first half Stars, Studs and Duds from tonight’s game.

STARS

Avery Bradley

Showing some serious two-way game tonight, Bradley was scoring the ball well in addition to doing a better-than-average job defensively on DeMar DeRozan. At the half, Bradley had 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting with three rebounds and two assists.

Kyle Lowry

He’s an All-Star but this kid doesn’t get enough credit for his talent. The Celtics had problems with him for large chunks of the first half as he led all Toronto scorers with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

STUDS

Jaylen Brown

Very active at both ends of the floor, making the most of his chance to see extended minutes. At the half he had seven points along with two rebounds.

Kelly Olynyk

This was one of the more active games we’ve seen Olynyk play in, especially when it came to rebounding. At the half he had five points and seven rebounds.

Norman Powell

He helped Toronto get off to a solid start, and finished the half with seven points.

DUDS

DeMar DeRozan

He had eight points at the half, but the Celtics made him work a lot harder for it than he’s used to as DeRozan shot just 4-for-12 from the field.

Thomas (groin) 'pretty ambitious' about return, remains day-to-day

Thomas (groin) 'pretty ambitious' about return, remains day-to-day

BOSTON – Isaiah Thomas, out for the second straight game with a right groin injury, is hoping to be back in the lineup by Wednesday’s game at San Antonio.

But the Celtics may find themselves having to save the 5-foot-9 from himself on this one.

“When I talked to Ed (Lacerte, the team’s head trainer) over the last 24-48 hours they said it’s usually 10 days to two weeks for an injury like this,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters.

“But again we're talking about Isaiah being pretty ambitious in his return,” Stevens said. “He's been getting treatment around the clock so we'll see. He'll be officially listed as day-to-day.”

When asked about how he was feeling prior to the game, Thomas said, “I’m not that good because I can’t play (tonight). It’s getting better. It hasn’t gotten worse and I’m just working as hard as I can to get back on the court.”

At a Christmas event earlier this week, Thomas said he was planning to travel with the Celtics when they play at Oklahoma City on Sunday and at San Antonio on Wednesday.

But he didn’t sound as optimistic when asked about it on Friday.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll probably know tonight.”

If the Celtics have ruled him out for Sunday’s game against the Thunder, it would make more sense for him to stay in Boston and continue to rehab his groin. And if he’s feeling better to the point where he becomes a game-time decision, he could meet the team in San Antonio.

“I’m going to take it day-by-day,” Thomas said. “Hopefully, I can play in the next few games and we'll see what happens. Today I feel a lot better than I have since I (suffered) the injury so we'll see maybe in next couple of days. I'm shooting for Wednesday."

As much as Thomas wants to be back on the floor quickly, he understands that he must listen to his body as well as the Celtics’ medical folks who have consistently brought back players only after they pass a series of rigorous physical tests that leave little doubt about a player’s readiness to return to action.

“Our medical staff is great and he trusts them,” Stevens said. “But also, nobody knows his body better than him. They feel like he's not looking (to be sidelined) long-term. It's not going to be a long-term thing for sure. We got to make sure not to bring him back tonight or too soon.”

Thomas is averaging a career-high 26.0 points per game in addition to being Boston’s leaders in assists with 6.2 per game.